


Whatever Happened

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Ambiguity, Bechdel Test Fail, Bottle Episode Fic, Conversations, Disturbing Themes, Gen, POV Female Character, POV Kate Argent, Pre-Season/Series 01, Pre-Teen Wolf (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 17:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7692709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Potentially AU. Kate and Derek talk about Paige. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whatever Happened

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

Kate’s cleaning the school’s swimming pool when she suddenly hears, “I killed someone.”

Jumping, she lets her net fall into the water, and turning, she sees Derek Hale is lurking near the bleachers. “Just now? Come on out, kiddo.”

Slowly, he moves toward her with his palms pointing towards the ground.

“Now, answer me. Did you kill someone just now, or this something that happened in the past?”

Quietly, he answers, “The past.”

“Alright, well, I can take my lunch break right now. Get my lunch from my office, and I’ll go-”

She almost doesn’t catch the can of cherry-vanilla soda he tosses her.

“New plan, then,” she says. “Sit down, and I’ll get my lunch.”

He complies.

When she comes back, she holds half her sandwich out.

He shakes his head.

Shrugging, she puts her chips in between them. “I knew you had blue eyes. I’ve never been sure if that meant a wolf killed someone or not. Why’d you kill them?”

Making a small noise, he looks over. “I heard you once killed an innocent werewolf in the middle of the night.”

“Almost everyone claims innocence just before they die,” she replies. “Unless you attack me or someone else, I’m not going to attack a sixteen-year-old on school grounds. You know this werewolf’s name?”

“Pedro Newton.”

“Oh, yeah, I killed him. I snuck in at 3:15, tossed wolfs bane all over him, and while he was screaming, I cut his throat, and then, cut him in half. Whatever the code said didn’t matter. There was a woman, and I believed her when she told me he’d raped her.”

“Oh,” is the almost soundless response.

She begins eating.

Eventually, he blurts out, “I don’t know her last name. I should. But I don’t, and I don't want to find out. Her name was Paige. I was a jerk to her, and I wanted to make it up to her. She wanted nature sounds for a band project. I went with her into the forest, and an alpha attacked us. He bit her. That was wrong, but- the bite can be a gift. She was healthy.”

“I should have taken her back into town or to my mom right away, but I thought- Instead, I found a place for us to hide. It was a full moon that night, I guess I was scared she might lose control and hurt someone. I thought, during the day, we could go back. Her body rejected the bite.”

Glancing over, he quickly looks back down. “There were hunters out there. I could hear them. She was dying. Or I thought she was. When she- I don’t know what would have happened if I’d gone to them or waited until morning. I didn’t have a cell phone back then, and neither did she. She asked me to make it quick. She was in so much pain.”

“So, I did,” he finishes.

“I think I remember hearing something about a wild animal killing a teenage girl last year. That her?”

“Yes.”

She sighs. “Well, I hope you’re telling the truth, kid, but if you aren’t, you managed to get away with murder. As far as I know, no one ever suspected her death was werewolf-related. Her body, if she wasn’t cremated, and even assuming her parents could be convinced to have it exhumed, isn’t going to have any concrete evidence one way or another.”

Finishing her sandwich, she adds, “If you did, don’t be cocky enough to think you can get away with it twice.”

She holds the bag of chips out.

Taking one, he nibbles on it.

“If you’re telling the truth, you just got put in a sucky, tragic situation. Sure, if you or her had done something different, or if one tiny thing had been different that day, she might still be alive. That, in a nutshell, is life. My dad used to say that every choice we make or don’t make shapes things in some way or another, and it’s pointless to wish we could have a do-over once something’s done. All anyone can do is deal with the results the best they can and try to make better choices in the future.”

She finds him staring.

“Hunters sometimes have to put other hunters out of their misery. On occasion, we’ve had to do it to innocent humans, too. You didn’t think someone who did what I did to Pedro was going to get queasy about hearing that a teenager reacted badly to the bite and was given a hopefully quick death?”

“I- wasn’t sure you had done anything, until you told me,” he answers.

Crumbling up the chip bag, she asks, “Why were you a jerk to her?”

Taking the empty bag and paper sack, he tosses them across the room into the recycling bin. “I don’t know. I wasn’t having a bad day, but- She just wanted to practise on her cello, and I was annoyed she was bothering me and some other boys.”

“But later, you apologised?”

He nods. “She was nice about it.” Pain flickers across his face. “She wanted to get a music scholarship and study these geographical ruins in Arizona. She never said it, but I think she believed in aliens. Even with all the shock, she didn’t seem very surprised about finding out about werewolves. She told me she’d always noticed strange things about this town.”

“Sounds like a sweet kid,” she comments.

“I thought, maybe, we could be friends,” he confesses.

“Like I said, kiddo, I don’t know if she could have been saved or not. But if she was going to die, then, giving her a quick death was kinder than letting her suffer a natural one.”

Finishing her soda, she hands it to him. “I don’t know if you telling me this was stupid or courageous. Either way, I’m not going to go after you.”

Nodding, he tosses the can.

“Here." Digging out her phone, she tells him, “This beautiful little girl is Allison. Though, I guess she’s not so little, anymore. She’s in double-digits now. She doesn’t know anything about what our family does or the supernatural. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, but the most important thing is that she’s safe. Whatever happened with Paige, I’m not risking her unless you or someone in your family is absolutely, unequivocally guilty within our family’s code.”

Derek studies the picture. “She looks like you. One of my sisters just turned eleven. She, uh, she hates everyone besides her best friend, especially us.”

Laughing slightly, Kate says, “I’m not sure Chris will ever have to worry about that. Allison’s such a genuinely kind girl. Of course, that doesn’t make her any less of a fighter. Last year, she gave a bloody nose to this big seventeen-year-old who made the mistake of grabbing his girlfriend.”

“Just like her mom, then,” he comments with a small smile.

“Eh, that’s a matter of opinion."

The smile fades. “Your daughter lives with her dad? It’s not my place- are you divorced?”

“Daughter? Oh, Allison’s not mine,” she says, and she knows by his look, he probably heard her heartbeat change. “She’s my niece. For me personally, having her is the only good thing my brother, Chris, ever did. I guess you could say, in some ways, I’m like your sister. Most of my family and I don’t get along.”

Taking the phone back, she muses, “Sometimes, people are better off without their family. And sometimes,” she touches the screen, “family is the only thing that keeps them together. Whatever happened with Paige, my advice is to focus on yours. Hunters know about Deucalion, too. None of us are safe.”

The bell rings.

Standing up, she motions with her head. “Come on. I’ll help smooth things over with the class you skipped. This time. Don’t make a habit out of it.”

He stands, too, but doesn’t follow. “I killed her. And it wasn’t right. It never could be. But it happened like I told you. I didn’t deliberately go after Paige. I didn’t lose control and hurt her. Whatever alternate theories you have, that could have happened, they aren’t true. What I’ve told you is.”

She studies him for a long moment. “Then, I’m sorry for both of you. She’s dead, and part of you is going to be a victim for the rest of your life. Maybe, someday, one of us will come across the alpha who bit her.”

“You haven’t asked anything about him.”

“Alphas like him won’t stop. Eventually, a hunter or even another supernatural creature is going to take him down. That said, you aren’t responsible for whatever he does, kid. Theoretically, he could decide to stop. If you tell me about him, though, enough for me to find him, I will do everything in my power to kill him. You know that, don’t you? One of us will die. Given how upset you are over Paige, I’m not going to put you in a position of feeling more guilty about someone else dying because of your direct actions.”

Smiling, she stretches her arm out. “Come on, sweetheart. I’m going to have a class soon.”

He moves closer, and making contact with his shoulder, she guides him.


End file.
